We count steps, track miles, and close our rings. Athletic metrics have infiltrated everything from viral #FitTok videos to biometric-tracking devices.
But when our devices remind us we haven't hit our daily goal, experts say it might be time to question what those numbers really mean.
“It's not so simple to just say, if you can do 20 push-ups and if you can run a 10 minute mile, you're good,” says Mathias Sorensen , an exercise physiologist at the UCSF Human Performance Center. “Ultimately these fitness tests are just proving correlations.”
From the one-mile run to the one-minute plank, experts break down which fitness metrics actually reflect health—and where they fall short.
Experts agree that a strong cardiovascular system is a good indicator of overall health. But when trying to gauge aerobic capacity, what's the best measurement?
The mile run, commonly used in the military to assess fitness, is a good, basic test, says Michael Fredericson , professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Stanford University and co-director of the Stanford Longevity Center. “It can give you a pretty good idea of somebody's aerobic capacity.”
“The field of physiology has accumulated a ton of data that supports a certain quantity of oxygen or a certain quantity of VO2 is needed to run the mile at a certain time,” Sorensen adds.
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